How to Make Your IP Law Firm Ranking Submission Stand Out

November 2015 
Define your firm’s unique selling points and prove your importance as an IP leader.
 
Researchers at top legal directories review countless submissions, so it is important to keep your submission focused and organized from the start of the process. Remember, you are telling a story that aims to bring your practice to life in order to make it stand out against your competitors.
 
There are five distinct areas that help tell the story:
  1. Firm profile
  2. Individual lawyer biographies
  3. Case descriptions
  4. Interview
  5. Client referees
In this newsletter, we will focus on the first four, and next week you can find out about how to manage the client referee part of the submissions properly and professionally.
  • Firm Profile - Develop a strong firm narrative – Don’t leave it up to the publication to define who you are. You have the power to promote the firm’s core strengths and what makes your firm different from your competitors. Within the firm profile, focus on the following: 
    • Your unique selling points – how do you offer extra value for clients?
    • Precedent setting cases or complex cases your firm has handled (do not go into detail here, you will show the actual case within the cases section).
    • Specialist work you do that others do not. The more specific the better, and then you can prove a niche which makes you stand out.
    • Range of clients using specific examples if allowed, or use generic terms like, “7 of the Fortune 50 companies,” if not allowed.
    • Figures stand out – numbers of lawyers, numbers of patents and trademarks filed, amounts of damages awarded, or cases won.
    • You still need to describe the range of work that you produce and if you are a medium or large size firm, describe the size of your practice and the resulting depth and breadth of work.
  • Partner Biographies - Personalize them and bring your people to life! - Firms with the best rankings have dynamic leaders who influence the culture and drive the practice with knowledge that is hard earned and not easily found. Allow your Partners’ personalities to come out in the biographies.
    • Identify and list what makes each partner different – position, industry group affiliation, and most importantly niche area specializations, and then write a narrative around it.
    • Illuminate the value each partner offers to your clients – e.g. experience in precedent setting work, or languages learned, or perhaps it’s their ability to form strong professional connections with clients – but remember to be truthful as the clients will likely confirm what you say here.
    • Researchers read countless attorney biographies; find ways to make your biographies become more memorable.
  • Case Descriptions – Use a strong template to collect ALL the details you will need for the multiple submissions you produce during the year – this saves a lot of time and effort over time and saves on non-billable hours - Here is a link to the generic template we use.
    • Update your cases regularly – constantly update your case list according to a schedule that works best for your firm, whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly. A strong robust list allows you to easily identify cases to include in each rankings submission.
    • Ensure you make the researcher understand why the case is important.
  • Interview with the Researcher– There is no question that interviews take time, but we cannot stress how important it is to take 20-30 minutes to have a short interview. A face-to-face or phone interview allows your personality to come out and will imprint a much stronger view of you on the researcher. Over a brief conversation, you can better present your strengths as an IP leader and clarify any questions that the researcher might have about you or the firm. 
    • Contact the researchers early on in the interview schedule to have a greater chance of getting face time.
    • Before the interview review your firm’s submission so you are aware of everything that the researcher knows.
    • Bring up the cases and any factual information that paints you in a strong light and allows you to stand out.
Since there are so many rankings directories today, keeping track of your rankings submissions is a full time job. Firms are often overwhelmed by the rankings process and the time that it takes away from client work. The submissions are frequently rushed, and, as a result, not as effective as they could be with a proper system in place. If you employ a few new tools and systems like our case template and adhere to a schedule for updating the lists, you will most certainly be a step above your competitors, resulting in better results and stronger submissions!
 
This is the second of a three-part newsletter focused entirely on the legal rankings process. Our next issue will go more into depth on how to manage the client referee part of submissions.

Confused about when your legal rankings deadlines are? Please consult our reference calendar for the next few months' deadlines.